Who knows Asheville best? You, Ashevillians. Whether you need advice, recommendations, or just want to find friends who share your interests, here are 30+ local Facebook community groups to join based on your interests.
Community conversations | Chat about all things local + reminisce on days of yore.
Mountain Song Festival | Fri., Sept. 9-Sat., Sept. 10 | 12-10 p.m. | $44.50+ | Brevard | Jam to headliners like Steep Canyon Rangers, Gibson Brothers + Amethyst Kiah at this bluegrass and mountain music-themed festival.
Windfall Collective Plant Sale | Fri., Sept. 9 | 2-7 p.m. | Free entry | Pearson Community Garden, 408 Pearson Dr. | Support the work of this plant nursery, a program of Bountiful Cities, which distributes plants to different community growing projects around the city. 🪴
The North Carolina Mountain State Fair | Today- Tues., Sept. 18 | WNC Ag Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd., Fletcher | $5+ | Celebrate the people and tradition of Western North Carolina with thrilling rides, tasty carnival food + more. 🎡*
Saturday
Oktoberfest | Sat., Sept. 10 | 12-6 p.m. | Hi-Wire Brewing, 2A Huntsman Pl. | Free | Jam to the Mountain Top Polka Band + participate in traditional games like the Bavarian bingo, brat toss, a stein-carrying obstacle course, and hammerschlagen. 🍺
Rockin’ for Rescue | Sat., Sept. 10 | 1-9 p.m. | Blue Ghost Brewing Company, 125 Underwood Rd. | Free entry | This fundraiser for the Asheville Humane Society features a slew of food and other vendors, plus live entertainment. 🐾
Virgo Season Party | Sat., Sept. 10 | 10 p.m.-2 a.m. | Asheville Beauty Academy, 28 Broadway St. | Free entry | Celebrate all the Virgos in your life with music from DJ LC Tamagotchi, delicious drinks, and late night food. ♍
Record Fair | Sat., Sept. 10 | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. | Harrah’s Cherokee Center, 87 Haywood St. | $5+ | Support Asheville’s local independent radio station, 103.3 Asheville FM, by bringing home some new vinyl.
Sunday
Public Tour: Border Cantos | Sun., Sept. 11 | 1-2 p.m. | Asheville Art Museum | Free for members or cost of admission | Join a museum docent on this tour of works from American photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican-American artist + composer Guillermo Galindo. 📸
9/11 Remembrance Ceremony | Sun., Sept. 11 | 8:30 a.m. | 100 Court Plz. | Free | Join to hear remarks and hold a moment of silence for the lives lost during 9/11.
Plan Ahead
Jack White | Fri., Sept. 16 | 7 p.m. | The Orange Peel*
We have amonthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
For tickets to local and regional events, check out our 6AM Tickets resale marketplace.*
AMOS’ annual fundraiser, Under the Stars, will take place on Thurs., Sept., 15 at Highland Brewing Company’s Event Center. The event will feature retired NASA astronautJoan Higginbotham as the keynote speaker, live music, bites, a special beer from Highland Brewing Company, a silent + live auction, and star gazing. Get tickets. 🌟
Featured
Local photographer Mike Belleme’s work appears in a recent piece in the Washington Post. The piece discusses cryptocurrency mines in rural areas, including Murphy(~two hours west of town), and the different responses residents have toward the noise they create. Check it out.
Eat
Just in time for soup season, Chef Katie Button is sharing her recipe for Butternut Squash Soup. The soup features a versatile vegetable base, aromatic spices, and heavy cream for a rich + silky dish that’s ideal for rainy days and chilly temps. 🥣
Development
Notice anything new lately? Our newsletter is currently “under construction” (you can read more on that here), so please bear with us as we fix some of these pesky formatting issues. If you see anything amiss over the next few weeks, please don’t be shy and pass it along.
Arts
Read award-winning poet Pat Riviere-Seel’s interview with Mountain Xpress, where the Burnsville resident discusses her poetic inspiration, how she builds imagery, and the advice she gives poetry students. Bonus: Read her poem “Reclamation.” ✍️
The Word
Environmental racism. You may have come across the term in the news recently, and we thought sharing this post from Southside Community Farm could be helpful. “Environmental racism involves any discriminatory environmental policy or practice that disproportionately targets and disadvantages communities of color.” Now you know.
Active
The annual Black Bear Half Marathon & 8K will return to downtown Hendersonville on Sun., Oct. 9. Newly certified by USA Track and Field, both races will wind through city streets, park pathways, and the Oklawaha Greenway. 👟
State
North Carolina has a new invasive pest. Native to Asia, the elm zigzag sawfly has spread to numerous countries outside of its native range and was recently detected in Surry + Stokes counties after previous sightings in Quebec and Virginia. Think you see some? Contact your NCFS county ranger. 🪰
Ashevillians
Can you name nine NC Music Hall of Fame musicians who hail from Asheville? Check out these icons in our hall of famers guide, where you’ll find household pop, bluegrass, and hip-hop names to drop at parties. 🎵
Learn
Guten morgen, Asheville. If you’re ready to brush up on that high school German, do it the effective (and fun) way with Babbel. Its speech recognition technology will even help you nail your pronunciation + accent from the get-go.Bonus: Get 55% off your subscription — for a limited time only.*
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COMMUNITY
More on Asheville’s largest Facebook group
The origin story of WAX, Asheville’s largest Facebook group
What a lovely little city. | Photo via @overasheville
WAX – West Asheville Exchange, a local Facebook group made up of 38,000+ locals and counting, is a wondrous, strange (and if we’re being honest, sometimes stressful) online destination.
Many consider it “the front porch of Asheville,” where locals gather to exchange information, goods + services. It’s also a place where snark, strange theories, feisty rants, heartfelt anecdotes, pleas for community support, and wry commentary about everything from Asheville’s sinkhole problem to the housing market come out to play.
But how did this Facebook page earn such a devoted following in the first place?
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